Heimeulen

Heimeulen is a historic corn windmill of the belt-mill (beltmolen) type standing in Meerle, a village belonging to the Belgian municipality of Hoogstraten, right near the Dutch border. It is also known as Heimolen or Molen van Mertens, a name inherited from the family that ran its grain and oil production for decades.

Where did this windmill come from?

The mill was built in 1851 on the initiative of Corneel Mertens as a masonry grain and oil windmill. Interestingly, the builders didn't start from scratch: they reused structural components from an earlier mill that had stood near the Heihoeve in the hamlet of Groot Eyssel, also within Meerle. This kind of "recycled" construction was not unusual at the time — moving already-finished, heavy timber and stone parts from one site to another was often cheaper than building everything anew.

What were its lowest and highest points?

Heimeulen's history has had its share of drama. In September 1907 the mill was struck by lightning and caught fire. The damage was repaired and the mill returned to operation. For decades it was run by J. Mertens-Havermans, until production finally stopped in 1952. Just seven years later, on 7 December 1959, the structure was granted protected monument status — sparing it from the demolition that claimed many rural windmills of that era.

The first major restoration came in 1972, when the Caers brothers from Retie brought the mill back into working order; it was ceremonially reopened on 23 September 1972. A far more thorough overhaul followed decades later: between 2001 and 2009, the Dutch mill-building company Molenbouw De Jongh, based in Veldhoven, restored Heimeulen to full working capacity — not as a decorative structure, but as an operating grinding mechanism.

What can visitors see on site today?

The mill has a brick masonry tower topped by a slate roof laid out in the characteristic "wolfsdak" pattern — a hip-roof style with a ridge running crosswise from front to back rather than along the main axis. On the grounds, the mechanical equipment of the former grinding facility (maalderij) has also been preserved, complementing the windmill's own machinery.

The site's approximate coordinates are 51.473, 4.804, placing Heimeulen on the edge of Meerle, in a landscape typical of the northern Kempen region: flat, open farmland where windmills have shaped the visual character of villages for centuries.

Frequently asked questions

Can Heimeulen still grind grain? Yes — thanks to the 2001–2009 restoration, the mill regained full technical working order as an operating grinding mechanism, not merely a museum piece.

Why is the mill also called Molen van Mertens? After Corneel Mertens, who built it in 1851, and the Mertens-Havermans family, who operated it commercially until 1952.

Since when has Heimeulen been a protected monument? It received heritage protection on 7 December 1959, a few years after production ceased.

Where exactly is Heimeulen located? In Meerle, a village within the municipality of Hoogstraten in Antwerp province, close to the Dutch border.